finding a sense of place

Truth, Love and Praying Hard

I’m in a mood today. Not even gonna lie or pretend it’s not so. So many things in this crazy world boggle my mind and make me angry. Why can’t we just all get along. That is a rhetorical question so no need to answer unless of course, you have the final answer. Which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist seeing as how we are all people with opinions.

As my husband often says, opinions are like belly buttons everybody has one. But, you know what? God’s opinion is the only one that matters and we better be paying attention to what he says.

Bombs sent in the mail, a shooting at one of our local Krogers, Politicians trying to out-yell each other, unborn babies being killed, people changing who God created them to be, and whatever else you want to add to the list. I usually go about my day acknowledging that these things exist and that we live in an imperfect world and I understand that we will not see perfection this side of heaven. I am thankful that I don’t have to school the world, that is God’s job. And he will in his time make all things right. I hope we are ready.

So, most days I take it in stride, trust and carry on, knowing that God is in control. But somedays, like today I’m just not in the mood to keep it to myself. So, you dear friend, are getting to see the flip side.

I know this thirty-one days of writing is about grief, specifically the grief of losing my mother. But, in the midst of grieving my loss, living in the world does go on and I can tell you that this world certainly causes me grief too. I hope it sometimes causes you grief as well. That’s how we know we care. That’s how we know we need to search for God’s truth and stand on it. That’s how we know that sometimes we must speak even if it’s not popular.

One thing I remember well about my Mama. She would not tolerate injustice. She did not make excuses for sin And she would tell you the truth and put you in your place quicker than you could scat out of her way. Ask me how I know.

She always told the truth and she didn’t pat you on the back and tell you everything was ok if it wasn’t. If you were setting yourself up for consequences she would tell you to build a bigger barn for all that you were about to reap. But, she did it in Love. Oh, she might be heated in the moment; she might be in a mood and she might rant a little and cause you to roll your eyes and sigh real deep, but she always made sure you knew you were loved. That’s how we knew she cared. She cared enough to tell us the truth and raise us right. And we better honor that teaching and make her proud.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 NIV

So, today in the spirit of my dearly beloved Mama I come to you in a mood. I am telling you that it is time to get your house in order and get your priorities straight. It is time to quit making excuses for the injustices of this world and our own sin because if we keep making excuses we are going to need a barn the likes of which we have never seen before.

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 1 John 1:6 NIV

I hope you read between the lines and know that it comes from a deep place of passion for people to see the truth from God’s viewpoint. I do have opinions; it is more than possible that my opinions are not always right. But I do know that God is sovereign, he makes many things crystal clear in his word and I think it’s time we wake up and listen to what he says.

It is also possible that all I’ve been through the past couple of months has made me realize that life is too short to hide behind weak excuses for making wrong choices and eye winks of acceptance at things that are clearly out of sync with God’s precepts. If we are Christians like so many of us say we are on social media, then it’s time we step up to the plate and do it God’s way. It’s time we ask him what comes next and then listen for him to tell us. That is how my Mama lived; she spent a lot of time on her knees crying out to God. She wasn’t perfect, but she was his and she lived her life standing on truth.

And by all means, Love should always be the foundation. We can have our mood moments, but at the end of the day, we need to make sure those we are in contact with know that Love is the foundation it is all built on. Not a love that waters down the truth but a love that comes along beside and walks together in the right direction. A love that does not shrink from standing on the truth.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18 NV

Grace for the journey,

Teresa

Postscript:

I have not slept well the past few nights and that sometimes puts me on the dark side. Also, in the spirit of confession, I was quite put out today because my mail person stuffed a book in my PO box so tight I couldn’t get it out. It made me angrier than it should have considering the circumstances and in light of so many other things that are more important. Thankfully, I have put that in perspective and am ok. Tomorrow all will be made right on that count and I’ll have my book. At least I hope.

In the spirit of further confession, after reading this post I waffle between posting or not because it might come off a little harsh and preachy. But, I think I’ll let it stand as it is; raw, authentic emotion that erupted in the middle of my grief journey.

Two things: one, after reading it back I realize I need this sermon as much as anyone else, so maybe it is God’s message to me to not be complacent. Two, I am not meaning to offend anyone because “as much as possible I try to live peaceably with all men” (women too). I apologize if my words offend you, but if they do, I would ask that you ask why? Maybe I have hit a nerve that requires further examination. I know I have hit some of my nerves.

As always thank you for reading. I love all of you and wish you well.

One more thing. Today’s post is not exactly pretty, so I thought maybe the words don’t need a picture. Then I remembered the picture of a graveyard I took and the graphic I made that says And I Pray Hard. I decided that picture or at least the message was just the reminder we all need. To pray hard.

Come back tomorrow for more of the journey? Just a reminder that I usually post later in the day. Clicking on the ladybug graphic will take you to the first page in this series with links to the daily posts. Thanks for reading!

I am glad you didn’t change this! It’s real! It’s truth!
The anger is a part of the grieving, letting it out this way is good!
You have said what so many believe and you are brave enough to say it! Amen!
Let God’s light shine thru.
God Bless!